But how do you get there? And what’s holding you back from gaining followers on Twitter? Keep reading to learn ten things that are possibly causing people NOT to follow you.

10 Things You Must Change to Gain More Twitter Followers

1. You do not have an image.

If you don’t upload a profile photo or image, what people will see when they bother to check your account is an egg. Remember you only have a few seconds to impress potential followers; an egg isn’t likely to do that for you. People want to know who they’re connecting with on social media and the first step to doing that is seeing what your business looks like. When they see only the image of an egg, they’re less likely to follow you. An image of your logo or your business should work well enough.

2. You’re a “guru.”

People have become wary of those who refer to themselves as guru, expert, or maven on social media. So when you refer to your business as some kind of leader, you’re practically telling people NOT to follow you. Of course it’s important to let people know that you’re good at what you do, just do it without rubbing your expertise in their faces. Sometimes a simple description of who you are and what your business stands for works best.

3. Third person narrative.

You know it’s important to provide information about your business. Writing it from a third person point-of-view, however, isn’t really the best way to go about it. Even if you’re using Twitter for business purposes, you should never forget that it is a personal social platform. People want to know they’re conversing directly with someone, so give your Twitter profile a touch of panache and make it come across as personal and interactive. It would also be useful to include links to your website and other social media accounts.

4. You’re hidden.

There are business leaders who set their Twitter account to “private” so only their followers can see their tweets. This is okay for individuals who want to keep their privacy, but for business owners like you who want to have as many followers as you can, it’s best to make sure your account is unlocked and visible to all.

5. You’re a hopeless follower.

It may be okay for you to follow more people than those following you, but when you only have ten followers and you’re following more than a thousand, that’s a red flag for your target audience. Try not to go crazy in clicking that “Follow” button if you want to encourage people to join your list of followers. It would be more useful to focus on following people or other businesses who have something strategic and of value to offer.

6. You tweet too much or too seldom.

If you tweet just once or twice each year, what’s the point of following you? People follow businesses to get updates on what they’re doing and what they have to offer, so give them those updates. This doesn’t mean you should tweet every hour of every day, though. That would be overkill and would likely turn people off. Tweeting once or twice each day should be enough. It should also be an opportunity to tweet about new product announcements and something interesting that your brand is doing.

7. You’re a robot.

Someone may have convinced you to sign up for a service that automatically posts tweets for you on a set schedule. Take note, though, that auto-generated tweets will likely discourage people from following you. Again, there’s a need to emphasize that Twitter users expect to converse with someone, not just get updates from robots. It’s about engagement, not just regularly providing information. This is even more pertinent when you are a business owner because only personal interactions can lead to better engagement.

8. Active selling.

Of course you’re selling something! You’re using Twitter for business, after all, right? We understand that, but you should refrain from obviously selling on Twitter. People are there to interact, not to be barraged with sales pitches. It’s enough to let them know what business you’re in; you should then focus on establishing your expertise by regularly providing relevant and useful information. That should encourage your followers to learn more about you by clicking through to your business website.

9. DM spamming.

It may indeed be a nice gesture to thank someone for following you on Twitter, but if you DM your thanks and follow it up with a request for your new follower to check you out on Facebook or click through to your website, you’re more likely to lose that new follower than earn a new customer. Remember that sending promotional messages via DM is a lazy and old-fashioned form of marketing—one you can definitely do without.

10. You are reticent.

Twitter success lies in being sociable! This means that you participate in forums, provide information that people can use and update information on your business with regularity. It is not always about saying something and then expecting people to follow your brand. It is also about sharing information that you have.

Read through this list again and assess yourself as objectively as possible. Are you doing any or all of the things listed here? If so, then you need to stop doing them immediately!

Fix those mistakes that can be fixed, and avoid doing those things that need to be avoided. As soon as you’re able to do that, you should be able to look forward to an increase in the number of Twitter followers for your business.

Emma-Julie Fox writes for Pitstop Media Inc, a Vancouver company that provides advanced SEO services to businesses across North America. She enjoys writing about online marketing, SEO and social media best practices.